WARNING: There are spoilers ahead for the latest episode of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.

Director Mace and Coulson

First, let me make it clear I don’t like this guy, but that’s not a bad thing. One thing the writers of this show consistently get right is making the viewer love the characters they’re supposed to love and hate the ones they’re supposed to hate. That may not sound like a big deal, but think of how many shows you watch where you can’t stand one of the “good guys.” Think of how many shows you watch that would be perfect if not for one poorly written character. Agents of SHIELD, to its credit, has managed to avoid this problem throughout most of its run. Now Director Mace is the next in a line of characters that hold the mantle of people you love to hate.

In this episode, the writers gave us multiple reasons to dislike the guy. Before we even met him, going back to last week’s premiere, we thought he would be the paranoid hardass type of character. Then it looked like he was boxing Coulson out and treating him like a glorified tour guide, all while talking to him and about him in the most condescending way possible. The episode ended with him capturing May and sending her away to some undisclosed location. It doesn’t even matter that we know May is sick and desperately needs help, something about the way the Director is handling it seems wrong.

I loved the two twists involving Director Mace. First, we found out that he’s an Inhuman, one that is either super-strong or impervious to pain, maybe both. Then we found out that it was Coulson’s idea to step down as the Director of SHIELD and hand the reigns over to a trustworthy enhanced person. The rest of the team seems ignorant to that as May chided Coulson for not fighting more for his position. What does this mean for Mace and Coulson? The Director doesn’t seem to be the type of person Coulson was hoping for, while Mace seems to view Coulson as a nuisance. Coulson doesn’t want a power struggle, but he might find himself in one anyway.

Lucy and the Specters

More specters appeared this week. That makes four and they don’t seem like they’re going to end up as good people. We don’t know much so far, but we do know that this was done to them by someone yet to be named. We also know that there is some kind of book involved and Lucy, the first specter that we met, was looking for some kind of power and she and others were betrayed. I still think this will end with a tie-in to November’s Doctor Strange. That premiere’s on November 4th, so we have another month of clues and development before we get any real solid answers to the questions we’ve been left with. My early prediction is that this storyline won’t tie-in directly with Doctor Strange, but the show will deal with similar themes. In other words, don’t expect any crossovers or name-drops, but don’t be surprised if the film and television world discover the mystical arts at the same time.

Daisy and Robbie

The writers spent much of the show teasing another big fight between Quake and Ghost Rider but ended the show with the two teaming up. This should be interesting. Ghost Rider is already an anti-hero bordering on full-blown villain while Daisy is still teetering on the edge towards the opposite direction. It’s clear she still cares for her old team and friends, but for some reason feels like she has to do this on her own. That’s another question that will hopefully be answered sooner rather than later.